Foot-guard for railway-track structures.



.T. W. STEPHENSON. FOOT GUARD FOR RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.8, 1911.

INVENTOR WITNESSES um-Q12. 1 m

coLummA PLANQGRAPH c0. WASH J. W. STEPHENSON.

r001 GUARD FOR RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURES. APPLIUATION FILED APR. 8,1911.1,01 1,655.

Patented Dec. 12, 191 1 2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

III;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. STEPHENSON, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEAIBLECASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FOOT-GUARD FOR RAILWAY-TRACK STRUCTURES.

Application filed April 8, 1911.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

v Be it known that 1, JOHN 1V. STEPHEN- SON, a resident of Toledo, inthe county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Foot- Guards for Railway-Track Structures, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan view showing my invention applied to twoconverging track rails; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of thestructure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the upperguard members; Fig. 4 is a side view of the same; Fig. 5 is a top planview of the other guard member; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the lowersupporting member of the guard; and Fig. 7 is a section on the lineVIIVII of Fig. 1.

My invention has relation to guards for railway track structures, suchas frogs and the like, having converging rails.

The object of my invention is to provide a foot guard of simple andeffective character and which is capable of adjustment vertically tosuit rails of diflerent heights and is also capable of lateraladjustment, so that it can be used between rails having different anglesof convergence.

My invention, therefore, consists in a foot guard having means for bothvertical and lateral adjustment to suit wide variations in the heightand angle of the rails, thereby largely reducing the pattern workrequired in the manufacture, and also reducing the number of standardfoot guards required.

In the drawings, the numerals 2 designate two converging track rails,between which I have shown my improved guard applied.

The guard proper consists of a plate adapted to fit between the trackrails, and having upwardly and laterally projecting flanges 3, which fitunderneath and bear upwardly against the under sides of the heads of therails. The inner faces of these side flanges are beveled, as shown at 4,so as not to interfere with proper wheel flange clearances. The plate isdivided longitudinally on a substantially central line, to form the twomembers 5 and 6, having their inner edges preferably overlapping, asbest indicated in Fig. 7. The rear ends of the plate members are shownas having down- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 619,873.

wardly extending flanges 7. The member 5 is shown as having at its rearend a curved laterally projecting arm 8, which has a sliding engagementwith lipped lugs 9, on the member 6. The member 6 is shown as having atits forward end an oppositely projecting arm 10, which has a slidingengagement with the lipped lugs 11, on the under side of the member 5.The arms 8 and 10 by their sliding engagement with the lipped lugs 9 and11, form guides, whereby the two members may be moved laterally withrespect to each other to give a considerable change in the variation ofthe angle of their converging outer sides.

The divided guard plate is supported at its wider or rear end by meansof a member 12, having a tapered or conical head 13, the inclinedsurfaces of which engage the inclined or cam surfaces 14 and 15 formedon the under side of the guard plate members 5 and 6. The member 12 issupported by a helical spring 16, which is seated in a pocket 17, of alower supporting member 18, having side wings 19, which rest upon thebases of the track rails.

The forward ends of the guard plate members are preferably supported bya helical spring 20, which is seated at its lower end around a boss 21of the lower member 18, and which is received at its upper end in ahollow boss or spring seat 22, depending from the lower side of themember 6.

The springs 16 and 20 are made of sufficient rigidity to hold themembers of the guide plate firmly underneath the heads of the rails inthe position shown in Fig. 7 and also to sustain, without any very greatdeflection of the plate, any ordinary weight which it may receive. Itwill be readily seen that these springs provide capacity for aconsiderable amount of vertical adjustment, whereby the guard will adaptitself to changes in the heights of the rails. It will also be apparentthat, by reason of the beveled or cone-shaped head 13 of the member 12and the cooperating cam surfaces 14 and 15 of the guard plate members,as the member 12 is pressed upwardly by its spring, it will exert aspring action upon the said members. This provides for a veryconsiderable degree of adjustment, to suit varying angles of convergenceof the track rails.

The members may, if desired, be provided with depending lugs 23, whichare perforated, as shown at 24;, to receive bolts, by which a positiveattachment may be made to the track rails. I also preferably provide thelower member with a rearward eX- tension 25, having a spike hole 26,which permits of a positive attachment of the lower member to a tie. Ihave also shown the guide plate members as having upwardly beveled stoplugs 27, which engage the inner sides of the heads of the rails in themanner shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

I do not desire to limit myself to the details of construction andarrangement of the parts which I have herein shown and described, sinceit is obvious that very many changes may be made therein, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention, as set forth in theappended claims. Thus, I may dispense with the overlapping of theadjacent inner edges of the guard plate members, since the range ofadjustment is not sutiicient to leave an objectionable opening betweenthe edges of the members.

I claim:

1. In a foot guard, laterally adjustable guard members, and a device forsupporting said members and also acting to spread the same;substantially as described.

2. In a foot guard, laterally adjustable guard members, and a verticallyadjustable device for supporting said members and also acting to spreadthe same; substantially as described.

3. A foot guard for railway track structures, having'a longitudinallydivided guard plate, and means for eifecting both a lateral spreadingand a vertical adjustment of said plate, substantially as described.

a. A. foot guard for railway track structures, comprising alongitudinally divided guard plate, and spring supports therefor, one ofsaid supports acting as a spreader for the said divided plate,substantially as described.

5. A foot uard for railway track structures, comprising a longitudinallydivided guard plate, and spring supports for said plate, at least one ofsaid supports having a cam spreading action upon the divided plate,substantially as described.

6. A foot guard for railway track structures, comprising a taperedlongitudinally divided guard plate, and vertically yielding supports forsaid plates, at least one of said supports having means for exerting alateral spreading action on the parts of the divided guard plate;substantially as described.

7. A foot guard for railway track structures, comprising a guard platedivided longitudinally into two members, a lower supporting member forthe divided guard plate, and spring supports interposed between thelower supporting member and the divided guard plate, at least one ofsaid supports having a cam spreading action on the members of the plate;substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN W. STEPHENSON.

lVitnesses J OI-IN J. MANNING, ADoLPH F. SEUBERT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

